32 Comments

1. 

   @britneypage7342

   January 1, 2024 at 9:34 am

   I'm a black American, whose father is African. (I have never been to Africa and did not grow up with my father playing a role in my life) While I get the social and lived experiences, we have are very different. When it comes to movies about slavery, I see nothing wrong with African people stepping into the roles. The slaves were African. We today are the descendants of those African people. We are not the same. That being said, I always hope a black person is chosen for their gifts a talents. So, in this case, she may have just being the best person for the role. Much like Viola playing an African Queen warrior. I just want to see us all win. I do feel the disconnect black Americans feel with African and black people outside our country. As Black Americans we still fight for basic rights and to be seen by all industries. I just feel like this only continues to keep us disconnected. Just my two secnts.

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2. 

   @canering

   January 1, 2024 at 9:34 am

   Would it be different if she were descended from Africans enslaved in the UK?

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3. 

   @i.7081

   January 1, 2024 at 9:34 am

   Idk why people care so much. Her audition was obviously better than everyone else’s and she earned the role.

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4. 

   @juanmonster6232

   January 1, 2024 at 9:34 am

   I watched the movie before I knew the controversy…..the movie was good, but the casting directors fudged up big time.

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5. 

   @andriagivens5815

   January 1, 2024 at 9:34 am

   You are not bottom caste because of your skin color. You become bottom caste because of your life choices. For example my father who is black grew up in Gray, Indiana which was the murder capital of the world when he was a kid in the 70s & 80s. My father enlisted in the USMC when he was 18 right after high school. He retired from the USMC in 2013 and graduated in 2019 and his degree is a doctorate in cyber security. So a black kid from the murder capital graduated with a doctorate. That’s called making good choices and putting the hard work. And by the way my mom is white.

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6. 

   @joshuagamer

   January 1, 2024 at 9:34 am

   The way that this story was reported is reductive to say the least. This is not a question of blackness, as all members of the African diaspora are Black, whether they be continental Africans, Afro-Caribbean people, Afro-Latino people, African Americans, etc. It is also understood that there are certain hurdles and there is a certain cost (literally and figuratively) to being Black in the United States (this would affect Black people of all kinds here). This is a question of lineage and tribulations that align with different lineages.

   Ultimately, this is about reparations- specifically reparations for slavery in this country. Someone like Erivo, who is Nigerian, does not possess a lineage that ties to American slavery (or slavery at all). We can look at international precedents for reparations and it is clear that reparations are narrowly tailored to repair a particular grievance. Here, that grievance is American slavery. While I'm sure that the reporters understand that fact, they decided to put forth a disingenuous argument about other members of the diaspora that experienced slavery in other countries. A Jamaican or Haitian person would not be entitled to reparations for American slavery for the exact same reason that I would not be entitled to reparations for British slavery like Jamaican people or reparations for French slavery like the Haitian person.

   I do not subscribe to the ADOS movement because of some of their menbers' xenophobic views but that doesn't, in any way, nullify the fact that 1) there are quantifiable differences between different members of the African diaspora when on American soil, and 2) that African Americans (not to be confused with Black Americans, a term all Black people who live in the U.S. can claim) are the only ones entitled to reparations for American slavery.

   Like I mentioned earlier, there are a whole host of things that Black people in this country deal with (or have dealt with), e.g. redlining, no access to the GI bill, slavery, Black Codes, Jim Crow laws, being forced into concentration camps, mass incarceration, lynchings, employment discrimination, and many more. If the US were to ever give reparations for employment discrimination, all Black people here would be entitled to those. A simple truth still exists though: the vast majority of Black immigrants did not even come to this country until after the passing of the 1965 Hart-Cellar Act, meaning that Black immigrants were simply not here for many of the wrongs done to Black people in this country. As such, they would not be entitled to those reparations either.

   We should just all agree that 1) Black people are not monolithic, 2) different Black people have not experienced the same traumas (for example, I don't bear any of the scars of African colonialism, as my direct line had been ripped from Africa centuries before 1884), 3) Black people, no matter where they're from, experience a lot of bad crap in the United States, 4) reparations are narrowly-tailored ways to redress wrongs, 5) immigration is a good thing (this can literally be quantified when looking at economic considerations), and 6) all Black people are owed reparations from some sovereign.

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7. 

   @jeffrey322

   January 1, 2024 at 9:34 am

   So just before seeing this, a video popped up that Classical Music is racist. This all comes down to merit. Everyone has equal opportunity to assimilate, educate themselves, present themselves well, and reach their goals. So create content on what ever level you can and promote it. Any can and has the right to do this. Stop adapting European Classics. Black American history can and should be produced by those who are able to do it accurately and with skill and talent. No one is stopping you. It's merit-based. The actress who played Harriet auditioned just like anyone else. She's acting; pretending; portraying someone.

   I saw the film and it was well-produced and emotional.

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8. 

   @jappiemutezo4377

   January 1, 2024 at 9:34 am

   No l disagree we africans also went through colonialism it's the same thing.

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9. 

   @sacha-gayblake8729

   January 1, 2024 at 9:34 am

   Bowy in every thing there is a fight

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10. 

    @samanthab1923

    January 1, 2024 at 9:34 am

    Stupid. 12 years a slave was directed by a Brit & starred one

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11. 

    @pamelaitolimaogoegbu3103

    January 1, 2024 at 9:34 am

    We preach equality and a racism free environment , black Americans that decended from slaves having more rights than those that didn't doesn't sound right.

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12. 

    @KAMILLE731

    January 1, 2024 at 9:34 am

    Sounds a bit bitter to me. She’s not even full black, and benefits from light-skinned privilege, but okay. 🙄

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13. 

    @hiddenflower3901

    January 1, 2024 at 9:34 am

    But she played the role well idc what y’all say the movie was good she did that 💪🏾💯

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14. 

    @me2u880

    January 1, 2024 at 9:34 am

    B1

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15. 

    @shakia_says

    January 1, 2024 at 9:34 am

    They don’t but I love her for the role

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16. 

    @novanetom9833

    January 1, 2024 at 9:34 am

    this is a slap in the face to blacks and american know this was you burned in trees hell no and they diss up as nothing like whites

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17. 

    @mareaux28

    January 1, 2024 at 9:34 am

    White people do not understand how racism negatively effects them!!

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18. 

    @mareaux28

    January 1, 2024 at 9:34 am

    Black immigrants DO NOT UNDERSTAND LYNCHINGS, TUSKEGEE, JIM CROW, and white people choose these people to take the edge off of racism and these pundits feed into the stereotypes. These black immigrants are interesting in America just as a black person is in intriguing in Europe even though black people are there…the experiences ARE NOT the same!!!

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19. 

    @taij208

    January 1, 2024 at 9:34 am

    Be happy that it was a black person period us black people we have to bring each other up and not down

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20. 

    @RIPRocky17

    January 1, 2024 at 9:34 am

    No one in this movie has a history of slavery and none of the people complaining have their own history of slavery either. So I don’t get the controversy.

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21. 

    @joewhitehead3

    January 1, 2024 at 9:34 am

    Imagine what the reaction woulda been if she’d won the Oscar

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22. 

    @AeiSedai1976

    January 1, 2024 at 9:34 am

    Wow I wanna throw up. You're black but not black enough.. not the right kind of black.. the farther we go as a society the more racist it seems to get

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23. 

    @tammyslade9441

    January 1, 2024 at 9:34 am

    She didn't even audition for the part!

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24. 

    @piricarmen

    January 1, 2024 at 9:34 am

    I see this woman’s argument from ADOS. I like what she is saying because it makes sense. And there is nothing “dangerous” about it.

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25. 

    @belle2464

    January 1, 2024 at 9:34 am

    Ok that's bad, fair enough.

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26. 

    @kiwifin

    January 1, 2024 at 9:34 am

    I don't understand. She black. It shouldn't matter who plays the role surely? The take away should be an important story in Americas history has been brought to life on the big screen. The narrative shouldn't be whose more black. It should be….What's next!!!

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27. 

    @kamariatoure42

    January 1, 2024 at 9:34 am

    It is an insult to African Americans. Harriet Tubman was African American

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28. 

    @loa7176

    January 1, 2024 at 9:34 am

    The ADOS have a point that is being trivialized and that is wrong! No one should be left behind!

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29. 

    @yanaishaw5505

    January 1, 2024 at 9:34 am

    Kmt.. y'all sensitive

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30. 

    @helloandgoodbye2546

    January 1, 2024 at 9:34 am

    this is so disrespectful black americans deserve their reparations thats all

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31. 

    @suzycarmichael933

    January 1, 2024 at 9:34 am

    Gtfoh!!!!! Liberians were slaves in America!!!!!

    Reply
32. 

    @honorables9485

    January 1, 2024 at 9:34 am

    Funny how the African Americans acted African roles in blank Panther. They even used our sacred culture but nobody made noise about it

    Reply

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